KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian student beat 65,000 contestants from around the globe to win the 2021 Adobe Certified Associates (ACA) World Championship.
Danny Tse Wei Chun from University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sg Long, emerged as champion and fellow Malaysian, Teo Sze Ting was placed fifth.
For the finals, the shortlisted contestants were required to come up with three marketing asset designs within six hours.
Each contestant had to display their digital and professional skills in using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to come up with the designs.
They were judged based on several criteria, among which were visual appeal, ability to meet the client's requirements, brand aesthetics and their professional usage of Adobe Creative Cloud applications throughout the competition.
Both Tse and Teo's designs were shortlisted before the winners were officially announced.
Tse beat 51 finalists at the 2021 ACA World Championship for his outstanding ability to creatively deliver the message for a non-profit client - Limbitless Solutions, through digital illustrations, taking home USD 7,000.
The winners of the 2021 ACA World Championship were announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
The second place was bagged by SouGustavoza from Brazil, third by Gina Anjarizky Amalia from Indonesia, forth by Anh Duong Viet from Vietnam and fifth by Teo.
Tse and Teo have made Malaysia proud and earned accolades from world-class industry players including Certiport as well as Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, herself.
Noraini, who congratulated them on their recent achievement via a Facebook post wrote: "What a magnificent performance our young champions have put up, hats off to them. I hope this success will motivate and inspire more students from all sectors to put themselves out there and showcase their talents to the world."
Meanwhile the founder of Creative Cloud Community (CCC ) Natalie Sit said: "Heartiest congratulations to our Champions for claiming the world's first and fifth spots, respectively! They have made Malaysia proud, and it is proof that our nation is filled with young talents that excel in design and digital communications.
"The efforts my team and I have put into producing exceptional talents to represent Malaysia in the world championship these past two years, through the MCO, with limited resources, have paid off. We are extremely proud of them," she said.
CCC is a social enterprise in Malaysia which is no stranger when it comes to youth empowerment through educational competitions. They have been spearheading the coveted ACA Championship Malaysia for six years in a row.
The competition also carries the objective of equipping students with worldwide recognised industry certifications which will enhance their career locally and internationally in the future.